You left!
by LilBitOBantar
Summary: Set during season 3 episode 1 in what I think should have happened! LOADS OF CASKETT! Now M rated!  Please RxR xx :D
1. Chapter 1

_Hey! Happy new year everybody, I'm not too sure if I should make this more that a one shot, so please read and respond (even if they are just to tell me how awful it is) then tell me if you think there should be more! I think this ends on sort of a cliff-hanger, I'm not too sure so you decide!_

You left!

Beckett looked at him in shock. _What on earth is he doing here! _She thought angrily. Then, finally registering that he was actually there, she sighed in disbelief,

"Castle? What the hell?"

"Beckett?" He looked back at her, the shock also registering on his face. Ryan and Esposito looked from Castle, to Beckett, and then back to Castle. Then Esposito noticed the gun in his hand,

"PUT THE GUN DOWN!" He yelled, Beckett joined in,

"Put down your weapon!" The two of them kept yelling at him and repeating themselves until Ryan, who wanted to join in, accidentally fired his gun at Castle whilst saying,

"Put the gun down slimebag!" And everybody body looked over at him with furrowed brows. Castle dropped the gun and Beckett walked over to him,

"Wait, Kate it's not what it looks like!"

"It never is; turn around,"

"Castle turn around," And as he did so, she said,

"Richard Castle, you're under arrest for murder." His eyes widened with shock and as Kate led him away, Esposito turned to Ryan,

"Slimebag, really Kev?" Then walked out the apartment to called forensics. Ryan stood there, puzzled, then raised his palms upwards, saying,

"What?"

**XXXXXXX**

Castle sat in the interview room and looked around._ Hmm, _he thought. _Things have definitely changed while I've been away. _At that moment Beckett came into the room, and he said,

"Something's different, did you remodel?" Kate shut the door behind her forcefully and looked down at him, then leaving the safety of the door she slowly walked towards him, a small smile on her face, and sat down opposite him. For a moment she didn't look at him but, finally controlling her emotions and focusing her mind as if he were any other suspect, she looked up at him and began her questioning.

"You've been informed of your rights Mr Castle." He looked at her in disbelief,

"Really? You're not gonna ask me how my summer was?"

"You are aware that you're under arrest for murder." He smirked then retorted,

"And I thought you were just being rough with the cuffs for the fun of it." His smirk turned into a friendly smile and he added,

"You look good." The corner of her mouth twitched a little as she replied,

"You look good too," Obviously a little surprised, he said

"Yeah?"

"For murder!" He looked frustrated and asked,

"Why are you so mad at me?"

"Maybe because you were found, standing over a dead body, with a gun in your hand!"

"Yeah, but I told you, she was dead when I got there!"

"Why didn't you call?" He looked baffled by the sudden change of subject, but continued all the same.

"I was going, to call you," Kate raised her eyebrows at him and tilted her head, as if waiting for a better excuse. He hesitated, pausing for a second then carried on,

"But then you showed up before I could." She nodded her head, thinking about what he had just said,

"Really? Well then, why did we find you, in our victim's apartment?"

"Because she called me." Beckett looked really angry now, Rick began to wonder why, but she interrupted his thoughts when she continued.

"Oh, so you and Miss Santori were in a relationship!"

"Well I wouldn't really say it was a relationship. I bought a couple of sculptures from her…" But she cut him off,

"Were you sleeping with her?" He looked surprised,

"How is that relevant?"

"Motive." He nodded in understanding.

"Ah, then no, I wasn't sleeping with her." Beckett still looked annoyed,

"Are you sure? Beautiful woman…" He cut her off,

"I'm in a relationship."

"With who?" He tried desperately but casually to change the subject,

"Is that a new lipstick?"

"Castle." Her voice was warning toned now, he sighed.

"You know with who." She played dumb though, wanting him to be the one to say it.

"How should I know, I haven't seen you in months. You could have been in dozens of relationships with women since then." He felt a little confused at her tone so he said,

"You sound jealous."

"Jealous," He heard the laugh in her voice as she continued,

"Of you dating your second ex wife and publisher. Tell me, does she make you do everything on a deadline?" Having had enough of her snarky remarks, he began to fight fire with fire.

"So how about you? You still with that, cop boyfriend of yours? What was his name again? Demming!" She froze for a second and he thought she could see pain in her eyes as she looked down at the table. Then he realised,

"You broke up?" And almost immediately she changed the subject.

"So, the victim, that called you; what was it about?"

"She said she was in trouble and she couldn't go to the police." She still looked puzzled, so she asked,

"So why did she call you?"

"Because, Maya knew I had a relationship with you…" He immediately regretted his choice of words and, as she raised her eyebrows at him, he added quickly,

"And the, Erm, NYPD, so she thought I could help."

"Help how?" _Jeez, _he thought. _She really wasn't letting up on this! Why is she so mad with me?_

"Well she didn't say, she just told me to come over and when I got there, the door was open and the place was trashed. She was dead on the bed and there was a gun on the floor!" She scoffed internally and continued, sarcastically.

"So you, being the expert veteran of dozens of crime scenes, decided to pick up the murder weapon to what? Ensure we had your prints?" Castle was a bit annoyed at this, so he retorted,

"Maybe you missed the part where I said she was shot dead! When I heard the noises coming from the next room I thought whoever killed her, was coming back! So I picked up the gun to defend myself, it seemed like a very good idea at the time. That's when you, Esposito and Annie Oakley come bursting through the door!" He gestured to the mirror glass on the wall of the interrogation room. On the other side however Captain Montgomery turned to Ryan and Esposito, and said,

"Annie Oakley?" Esposito looked unblinkingly from him to Ryan, who said sheepishly,

"Yeah, I kind of, almost shot Castle." Captain Montgomery looked at him amusingly; Ryan looked back and said quickly,

"What? He had a gun!" Esposito looked annoyed, and said,

"Should have let you shoot him. It would have served him right for not calling!" A police officer then came in and handed Montgomery a file.

**XXXXXXXX**

On the other side of the glass, Castle and Beckett were still going at it. She seemed bored and said tiredly,

"Yeah, tell me, why should I believe you? Seeing as you make up stories for a living!" Castle looked at her, with pleading in his eyes,

"Because you know me." He could tell she was about to say something else but obviously she decided against it, as she looked down at the table frustrated and passed him a file. Opening it, she pointed at the picture of a young woman.

"Do you know her? Chloe Whitman, she was shot to death." Castle looked at her with confusion in his eyes so she continued,

"You're friend's address was found in her hand after she was killed." Castle seemed fascinated,

"Another murder, what's the connection?" Kate looked back at him annoyed,

"I don't know, you were the one with the gun, you tell me!" _Why doesn't she believe me! She knows I would never do this! What is going on? _He looked at her with disbelief on his face and just as he was about to say something, the door opened and Montgomery appeared in the doorway.

"Beckett," He called,

"A word?" Rick smiled over at him and said brightly,

"Hey Captain, how's it going?" Montgomery frowned at him and walked away as Beckett followed him out of the door. Castle's mouth opened in disbelief,

"What you too? Really, oh come on guys!" _Why did everyone at the precinct seem to be anti-me now? What on earth had happened!_ Outside in the hallway Montgomery passed Beckett a look and then began to tell her the update he had just received.

"CSU recovered the slugs from Maya Santori and Chloe Whitman's place, they were a 45" and Castle was holding a 38"." Kate sighed,

"So it must have belonged to the victim for self-defence which means that Castle was telling the truth." Then Montgomery said, seriously,

"But I'd be happy to hold him if you like?" Beckett looked back at him, and he knew, by that look, that she just wanted Castle away from her. He walked away and she went back to the interview, walking back through the door and looking briskly at Castle, she said,

"You're free to go." He looked surprised,

"What that's it?" She looked away from him, and said,

"Bullets don't match you're gun. You're off the hook." Then she walked back out of the room without a second glance. He quickly stood up and made to run after her, then forgetting his jacket and running back to get it, he finally caught up with her and said,

"So what's our next move?" She kept walking and said quickly,

"There isn't one, at least not for you. You're going home."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Two victims, one an acquaintance of mine and you're sending me home?" She made up a lame excuse and said,

"You're a witness Castle, I can't have you involved." But he protested as usual,

"I'm already involved!" She lost her patience and yelled,

"Castle, go home! Go back to you're Hampton's, you're ex wife, you're book parties. Ok I've got work to do." Then she turned around and walked away from him. He looked confused and hurt as he watched her leave, and he called out hopelessly,

"What did I do?" Turning around, he saw Ryan and Esposito walking away from him, shaking their heads with dislike. That was the moment when he snapped. He wasn't gonna stand here liked some naughty school boy who'd just been bated by a teacher, No. He was gonna find his partner and sort this mess out, before he lost her forever. Looking back the way she had gone, he quickly followed her pathway, and headed towards the police training gym.

**XXXXXXXXX**

She was pounding lumps out of the punch bag when he found her. _Oh dear, _he thought panicking. _Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. _Kate, on the other side of the room, had no idea Castle was in the gym. She was too busy wrapped up in her own little world, as she punched the training bag mercilessly. When Castle had said Demming's name all her memories of the two of them came rushing back. As she punched the bag again the memory of their first meet came to her.

"_You need someone to hold your bag." Kate looked up at the gorgeous guy and smiled,_

"_Are you offering?" She said, flirting just a little bit. And he smiled back,_

"_Yeah." She nodded back and he held the bag. Beckett grinned inwardly and began to show the guy her strength. Hitting the bag with half her strength at first she saw the impressed look in his eyes. After a few moments of 'Training', her phone began to ring and she gave the bag a final kick sending him backwards, the impression spilling over his face. _

"_Sorry." She said, still flirting, and walked over, well more like sauntered, to get her phone. Stretching her body out, as she could feel his eyes on her, she slowly leant forward and picked up her phone. _

"_Beckett." She heard Ryan on the other end of the line informing her of a murder case and replied,_

"_Okay, I'll be right there." She turned back to the guy and said,_

"_Sorry, I gotta go. Thanks." Then, grabbing her jacket she left the gym. The gorgeous, sweat covered guy's eyes watching her all the way. _

Then her next flashback forced its way through, as she reached forward and stopped the bag with her right hand.

_Esposito looked cheerfully at the guy who had just stopped next to Beckett. _

"_Hey, Demming!" He said, as the shook hands. Kate looked at Demming and vaguely heard someone introduce them but she deflected it, not looking away from him, as she said,_

"_Yeah we've met." He smiled at her and said,_

"_Hello again." _

"_Hello."_

The scene changed again, flashing from different moments:

Their date.

The Chinese food.

The cases they solved.

The cab home.

The first kiss.

His excitement over their first vacation together.

The look on his face when she cancelled it and dumped him, almost like he knew the real reason she did it. Kate felt all these things go through her and let out a sob.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Castle, who had his back to her and had been trying to tiptoe quietly out of the room, stopped suddenly. He could have sworn he'd heard her… No. He must be imagining things. He stepped forward once more then he heard it again, a little sob that sounded like it was coming from the other side of the room. He listened intently as he realised the pounding had stopped, and someone – probably Beckett – was crying. But just as he turned around; he saw her fall to her knees and wrap her arms around herself, sobbing uncontrollably. So, without thinking, Castle ran towards her and scooped her into his arms. Then she was sobbing against a chest, not even sure whose it was but she carried on anyway. For some reason she felt warm and safe, like she only ever did when she was with Castle… Then she knew whose chest it was and pushed away from it, saying.

"Castle!"

**XXXXXXXX**


	2. Chapter 2

_Ok people let me just explain things to some confused people, I will be continuing this. I just wanted to know what you all thought of how I should. Thank you, to the reviewer who helped me with my writing problem. It turns out I have a virus so I got the PC World guys to wipe it for me and now everything is all good. :D Please keep reviewing and previous reviewers and future ones will all be receiving cyber cookies! Thanks, Charley xx_

Chapter 2

He smiled sheepishly at her and said,

"Hey." She laughed bitterly at him and said,

"Hey? You disappear off for months on end and all you say is hey!" Her eyes blazed with fury and Castle looked down at her sympathetically.

"Ok then fine, I'll say, 'Hi'. Look Kate I…" But before he could finish she had pushed off from his chest and sped away from him. With a menacing look in her eyes she said,

"I said. Get, the hell, away from me. And don't, call me that!" It was so quiet but deadly enough so that she didn't have to yell. He stood slowly and stepped towards her, she, on the other hand, practically jumped backwards away from him. He sighed,

"Oh, for god sakes! Kate, it's me, it's just me. Why do you keep running from me? We need to talk!" But, tired of having to listen to him, she spat furiously,

"We? WE? WE DON'T **NEED** TO DO ANYTHING! Ok, there is NO we! Understand?" He stepped towards her only this time she held her ground,

"Beckett, Kate. Look I know I haven't been here and I'm sorry if that upset you but I **told** you, I was going away for a while! And it was mostly, if not all, to clear my head!" She looked outraged,

"You are such a child! You think everything is about you! And you blame everyone around you for things that are entirely you're problem! I did nothing to you and neither did Esposito, Ryan or the Captain! Neither anyone else at the precinct for that matter! And if we are such head spinner then why don't you just do us all a favour and **piss off**!" She then stomped over to the door, but not before he had grabbed her arm and dragged her back to him. Looking right into her eyes and saying seriously,

"Oh no _Detective_! We are not done yet!" He pulled her closer to him as she tried to yank her arm away, but she was surprised to see he was pretty strong. Trying desperately to get away she screamed at him,

"Let go of me. Let go! LET GO OF ME!" But he pulled her to one of the walls and pushed her against it. Then placing one of his hands on the wall beside her head and the other beside her arm, he looked her right in the eye, his peacock blue burning holes into her forest green, and started what he had wanted to say.

"Right, now that I have you're attention, I'm gonna tell you what is really happening here. And what has been happening since the first time we met! But first off, I'm sorry. I just needed to get away, clear my head. I was going to call you. I must have dialled your number a thousand times but I just couldn't! I was scared you wouldn't answer! That's right, yes! **I** was scared and do you know why? Because I love you. I **LOVE** YOU! And I'm sorry, but I can't live without you, so I'm back. And nothing you can say or do is gonna make me leave again!" For a moment they both stood there, in silence. Her, completely still and him breathing, hard and loud. Then, his free hand slid up to cup her face as he leant forward and kissed her.

**XXXXXXX**

Kate stood there, in shock. But before she could even start to think about what he'd just said, his lips were on hers. Then they were both trapped in a furious liplock, putting all their anger and longing, frustration and, dare they say it, love, into it. Forgetting everything and everyone as the world fell away and all they knew was each other. It went on for what seemed like forever, both of their lips crashing together, tongues fighting for dominance. Things were getting hotter and hotter, so hot in fact that Rick pushed himself further into her body closing the gap between them. Then he lifted her up and Kate's legs went around his waist. He thrust his fingers through her hair and pushed their faces even closer, their lips and tongues working harder, noses squashed together but not so much to cause pain, in their passion they hardly even noticed. Kate felt his arousal pressing into her, so she raised her hips slightly and ground herself down onto it. Rick groaned loudly and tore his lips of hers and onto the skin of her neck, finding her pulse point and sucking on it ferociously. She cried out in surprise and ecstasy, she felt herself getting wetter and wetter as he grew harder and harder underneath her. She threw her arms around his neck and wove her fingers into the soft hairs at the base of his neck. He moved his lips down her neck, placing butterfly kisses as he went, and stopped at her breasts. She felt him smile against her skin and he growled with excitement; undoing the top buttons of her blouse to expose a black silk bra. As his mouth descended onto the skin of her left breast she mewled with contentment. Then suddenly she heard a voice in her head. It was her conscience; at least she thought it was, yelling,

_No! Stop!_ So she listened, she always put her head before her heart, the only time she had ever done the opposite, had resulted in her getting her heart broken and she wasn't doing that again. Removing her hands from around his neck and pushing away from him, unlatching her legs and jumping down. Beckett gave Castle a death glare and yelled,

"What did you do that for? We aren't together! We aren't even partners anymore, your ship sailed buddy! That is all over, **way **over and you know that! And then you just get me all confused with your crappy love and pity talk and then you kiss me! You. Kiss. Me! What the hell is wrong with you?" Castle looked puzzled, but it quickly turned to anger, as he said,

"Me? Me! You weren't exactly holding back yourself, so don't pin this all on me! I know you love me too, other wise why would I have felt it in every fibre of my being when we kissed? So **don't **deny it and **don't** tell me to forget about it because I won't! And you know what? I think I might do it again!" She ran around him and started to say,

"Don't you dare!" But he had already raced towards her and cut off her speech by attaching his lips to hers again. And as soon as their lips collided, the passion play started all over again. Rick put his arms around Kate's waist and crushed her body to him. Her hands fisted through his hair and held his face more intimately close to hers.

_This is ridiculous! _She heard her 'conscience' yell but this time it was knocked out of the park by her heart as she finally accepted that this was where she was meant to be. She was practically melting in the heat of the moment. Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. She looked up at him. Tears filled her eyes and Kate pushed at his chest as she backed away from him, shaking her head – Evidently her conscience had climbed back into her brain, along with fear and sadness – as she said,

"Please, stop. We can't do this. I **won't** do this! We are over, **way** over!" Castle smiled slightly and said calmly,

"You've already said that." It was nothing but a fact, but it shook her to the core. Beckett began to shake her head and sob frantically,

"No more, Rick, Castle, no more! We can't be anything anymore! Not friends, not dating, not partners, not even random people who bump into each other on the street as they walk past, who then turn and apologise! You can't come near me anymore! Can't touch me, speak to me or even look at me. Just get out of my life!" But Rick couldn't take it anymore.

"THEN TELL ME YOU **DON'T **LOVE ME!" He yelled. All the time she was speaking to him, he had been stepping closer to her. He was a foot away from her now, so close that Kate could see the tears in his eyes. He grabbed the tops of her arms and pulled her close, saying pleadingly,

"Tell me." A tear went down her cheek as she looked at the ground and said,

"I – I, I don't." Then Castle grabbed her chin and lifted her face to look up at him. Smiling slightly he raised an eyebrow,

"Ok." Then he released her and walked away. A small whimper left her lips as she watched him go, but the next thing she knew he had turned round and run back to her, placing his lips upon hers again.

**XXXXXXXX**

Rick walked away from her slowly, he knew it was a cruel thing to do but he had to be sure she really loved him. Then he heard her whimper, and it made his heart break at the sounds of despair it emanated. But that was all he needed, so he turned around, practically knocking her flying as he ran back to her, and kissed her full on the mouth. After a few minutes he released her and put his forehead on hers.

"You're a terrible liar Kate." He whispered lovingly. She pushed away from him whispering,

"Bastard!" He chuckled then looked across at her, a serious expression clouding his face.

"Hey! Why won't you listen to me? I really worry about you sometimes, actually all the time." She tried to keep her voice cold and icy but it came out trembling,

"Well don't."

"But I do, and I always will. Plus someone really should since you don't do such a great job of it yourself."

"Not you!" Castle frowned at her.

"Well if not me then who? Besides, no one loves you as much as I do. Well maybe Lanie and the guys and every other person in the precinct, and possibly Alexis and my mother… But I do the most!" He insisted loudly and she smiled slightly.

"Is that a smile?" He asked cheekily. Removing it quickly, Kate said,

"No." But the corners of her mouth betrayed her and began to tug the smile back up.

"That's a smile!" He said, like the know-all he was.

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is!"

"No it's… ARGH! You're so childish!" He laughed again and put his hands onto Kate's waist, pulling her close to his body again, and leaning in to kiss her. As he said,

"And you Ms Beckett are adorable when you pout." He leaned in and gently took her bottom lip between his and sucked. She couldn't stop a groan of desire forcing its way out. Grinning against her lips, he said.

"You do realise we still need to talk." She grinned back and made an incoherent sound that he guessed was a 'Mhm'. Then, unable to bear it any longer, she kissed him. And the world around them fell away.

**XXXXXXXXX**

_So what did we think? I realise this chapter was a little shorter than the first but remember! I'm not done yet, they still need to talk and Beckett needs to make a decision. Plus there are naughtier, more adult, M rated moments yet to come! Please leave a review! :D_


	3. Chapter 3

_Warning! This chapter is a major smut component. Be advised, things may get hot! No scratch that, they __**will **__get hot! My advice to you is, get yourself a glass of ice water and be sure to open a window. Oh and about the shower room, does anyone remember S2E21 when Castle, Esposito and Ryan were breaking into Demming's locker? Well they mentioned showering to that other cop, so I thought: Hey maybe there's one near the precinct gym? Otherwise, please feel free to read on! _

Chapter 3

Her lips collided with his this time and he was shocked, to say the least, at the powerful feelings it burst from him. Having her in control was making him hard, so hard in fact he needed release and fast. Pulling her away from the gym room and to the shower room on the left hand side, he picked her up, so she was straddling him, and carried her through the door, locking it behind them. Then he pulled his lips away from hers and began to finish what he had started earlier. He planted his lips on her neck, trailing them across it as he searched for her pulse point. Once he found it, he opened his mouth, still keeping contact with her skin, and sucked hard, teeth digging in a little as he sucked harder. Kate let out a small whimper of pain and pleasure, which quickly turned into a groan as he began to lick the newly formed hickey. She pulled away from him as looked into his eyes, smiling devilishly. Then, her payback started. She raised herself until she felt the tip of his arousal through the jeans he was wearing, and ground down on him hard. He cried out and gasped loudly as she went up, and did it again. Unable to control himself, and grabbing her hips as she went up again, he rammed her back down onto his erection. The force sent shockwaves straight through her core. She gasped and, hearing this, Castle lifted her up and slammed her down again. She couldn't hold back any longer, she had to have him inside her. Reaching forward, she took hold of his shirt and ripped it off of him, tearing it clean in two. He growled in arousal and dragged her top over her head, throwing it onto the floor. Pulling off both her stilettos and removing his shoes, he carried her away from the door. Mewling as he began to kiss her breasts, she gasped and writhed, shaking uncontrollably. He finally pulled of her lacy bra and exposed her nipples to the humidity of the steamy shower room. They peaked immediately and Castle preceded his next assault on them. Nibbling and sucking, he flicked his tongue across the surface and then moved to the next one. At the same time his hand was massaging and caressing the rest of her breast. Pushing his hands off of her, Kate leant forward and attached her mouth to his chest, sucking and biting down hard. He groaned and ripped off his belt then reached down to undo his trouser button, only to have his hands slapped away as she tugged at the waistline and the button pinged off and bounced away across the floor and out of sight. She laughed and pulled on his bottom lip with her teeth. He leant forward and kissed her again, pushing his tongue back into her mouth. They kissed passionately making noises unheard of before that only pushed their passion further along. Kate unzipped his trouser zip and slid his trousers down his legs with her feet. Then she dragged the tips of her toes back up the insides of his thighs torturously slowly. He shivered with pleasure, _God I am not gonna last! _He thought in frustration. He lifted her down from him and she frowned in frustration.

"Wha-" But she was cut of by his lips re-attaching themselves to hers. He reached down and hooked his thumbs into the tops of her joggers – which she had been fighting in – and slid them down her legs. She kicked them off her feet and he looked down.

"Ah," He smiled contentedly. "I'm so glad they weren't granny panties." She laughed at him and looked down at his boxers.

"Well, well, well" She said seductively. "Mr Castle, I think you need bigger underwear. These look a little… tight!" Raising her eyebrows and leaning forward to his ear, she whispered. "Let me see if I can do something about that." She reached in and gripped his hard length. He gasped in shock as her fingers probed and traced patterns along it, cupping and rolling his swollen balls in her hands. He closed his eyes in a bid to keep control. _Just a little longer! _He begged his brain, _Please hold on a fraction longer! _Right then she stopped and slid his boxers of and slid off her lacy thong. He pouted a little.

"That was my job!" Whined Castle, but she caught his bottom lip in her mouth and pulled him into the shower with her. Reaching behind herself and switching on the water, she looked into his eyes.

"Castle," She said. He gulped and drunk in the sight of her beautiful, bare body as the water cascaded over them.

"Yes Kate?" He whispered, looking back up to her eyes.

"Shut up and kiss me!" She grinned cheekily and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him slowly and deeply. He kissed her back and lifted her back up, her feet locking behind his just above his butt, his arms looping around her lower back. He lifted her, a fraction higher, and placed himself at her entrance.

"Kate, baby, are you sure?" He asked, eyes big and round praying to God that she would not change her mind, because he was not sure he would be able to stop himself. She smiled gently back at him and nodded.

"Rick," She said putting emphasis into every word. "I love you." And with a soft kiss to her lips, he pushed gently into her. She closed her eyes and sighed with passion. It was every bit as wonderful as she had imagined and then some. He then began to pull out of her and push back in again and her hips automatically rose and sank to match his thrusts. When they were perfectly in rhythm he began to speed up his thrusts, their breathing grew more erratic and they both gasped and groaned out in ecstasy as their orgasms started to rage through their bodies. As he hammered himself into her for the last time, they both came crashing down to earth with two loud cries and Kate's head fell onto his shoulder. Castle too felt exhausted as he shut off the water. He did not remove himself from her however. He did not want to lose the connection they had, and as far as he could tell, neither did she. It worried him that they may never have this connection again, but he held her closer to him and walked out of the shower. Still inside her, Castle carried her to one of the changing cubicles and grabbed two big white fluffy towels. Then he realised he had a problem; he couldn't close the door and hold Kate at the same time. The cubicle was too narrow to manoeuvre the both of them around it as they were. So reluctantly he made his choice, grumbling internally. He gently slid himself out of her and put her on the bench. She moaned sleepily in protest but still keep her eyes closed. He quickly closed the door and slid the lock from 'vacant' green to 'engaged' red and turned back to her.

**XXXXXXXX**

Opening her eyes slightly, Kate shivered slightly, Goosebumps blossoming along her arms and legs. Then she saw Rick sitting beside her. He smiled gently at her and lifted her slightly so she was sitting on his lap. He reached around her and wrapped the second towel around the both of them. She sighed contentedly and lay back against his tanned, well muscled chest. They sat like this for a few minutes, both wishing that this moment would never end. But finally, Rick took a deep breathe and looked down at her.

"Kate?" He said gently.

"Hmm?" She hummed quietly, opening her eyes and looking up at his.

"Did you really mean what you said in there?"

"What do you mean?" She frowned in confusion.

"When we were in the shower," He sighed slowly. "I asked you if you were sure, and you said, you said-" She cut him off.

"I said I loved you." She said simply.

"Yes I know that." He smiled. "But did you mean it?" She smiled back at him.

"I never ever say things I don't mean Rick. I love you. Otherwise I would have just let you go when you walked away earlier." She said; tears were starting to spill down her cheeks but she wiped them away hurriedly and looked deeply into his baby blue eyes. He looked back into her forest green ones and grinned slyly.

"Well, well, Detective." He said in a seductively joking voice. "I never knew you cared." She smacked him light on the chest and laughed. He smiled fondly at her again.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing," He said, still smiling. "I'm just admiring you. I've never heard you laugh like that; so carefree, so happy." She laughed again and he looked at her confused, asking. "What?"

"Nothing Castle, you just sure know how to flatter a girl." She said, teasingly. He winked at her.

"It's all for you baby." Grinning wickedly, he added. "And I do mean **all** of it!" She frowned slightly.

"Well that isn't very much then is it?" She said pouting sexily.

"Hey!" He said, feigning hurt. "You'll wound my ego detective!" She grinned evilly.

"Well, it's about time someone put a hole in that giant thing!" Laughing inwardly, she looked up at him. Her smile was wiped off her face though, for as she turned back to look at him, he had stood up, towel sliding off shamelessly, as he stood there, feet apart, hands on hips. Her mouth fell open as her eyes looked down at his manhood.

"If that's how you feel Kate." And he walked out of the changing cubicle. Kate was shocked. She had not realised that her teasing had affected him so. Without a thought, she ran out of there after him. _I didn't here the door open,_ She thought. _So he must be here somewhere._

"Castle?" She whispered, a little afraid. "Rick?" She walked around cautiously, clutching her towel to her securely; the steam in the room was making it difficult for her to see. As she walked past the shower they had recently occupied, an arm shot out and wrapped itself around her waist, dragging her inside. She felt herself pressed against a firm torso; she could feel a very familiar hardness in the back of her leg and a hot breath at the nape of her neck. She felt his hands reach around and untie her towel, caressing her body as the offending piece of cloth dropping to the floor. Her eyes closed instinctively as his fingers danced lightly across her chest.

"Well then detective," Castle's voice said huskily. "I shall just have to show you you're wrong." His hands began to travel along her body, exploring every bit of her skin, making her feel flawless. As his hand travelled slowly down her stomach, she gasped as his seductive hand teased her, going lower still, making her wetter every inch they travelled. As his hands reached their destination, he pulled one back up to her stomach, settling it their as the other got to work. His middle finger lightly traced her wet centre from top to bottom. She trembled, gasping with the pleasure, wishing he would stop teasing her, but praying he wouldn't. His finger slowly reached her core and he dipped his finger in gently – as far as it would go – then pulled out torturously slowly. She moaned and sighed a he did it again. _Is this what heaven feels like? _She thought absent mindedly, smiling dreamily. He then added another finger, smiling gently as he heard her moan with pleasure once more. Then Castle turned his head and began to kissed her neck, he sped up the pace of his fingers and as she cried out, gasping and trembling as her second orgasm of the night danced around her body. When Kate finally resurfaced breathing heavily, he turned her body in his arms and kissed her gently. She responded and, after what seemed like hours, pulled back, placing her forehead against his.

"Rick, I really love you." She whispered, opening her eyes to find him gazing intensely at her.

"I love you too Delilah." He said grinning. She smacked him on his chest and he held her hand there, feeling it rest just above his heart. "No seriously now," He said, meaning every syllable. "I **love** you Kate Beckett. Now and forever." She smiled a watery smile at him, tears of happiness filling her eyes and as they began to spill, Rick kissed them away, placing little butterfly kisses around her face until he reached her lips and then he kissed her with all the love in his heart. They stayed this way for some while then Castle pulled back and smiled slightly.

"You know Kate," He said slyly. "We never did actually get to have a shower." She smiled and held up one finger, dashing from the shower. He stood there for a few minutes, wondering if she'd come back. When she finally did he looked at her curiously. Then she grinned cheekily and held up her shampoo and body wash.

"I'll scrub your back if you scrub mine?" She said, raising an eyebrow suggestively. He reached behind him and turned the water back on, growling as he grabbed her round the waist and pulled her back under its spray. Dragging the curtain shut behind them.

**XXXXXXXX**

Two hours later, they emerged from the shower room, fully dressed and ready. Ready for the conversation they had yet to have. The conversation that would make their future, or break it. As they walked through the precinct, laughing, smiling and chatting happily, every NYPD personnel watch them open mouthed, wondering how on earth they could go from 'All hell breaking loose' to 'Best buddies'. They had just entered the break room, Beckett sitting on the sofa whilst Castle stood, making them both coffee and telling her about one of his mother's life coaching clients, when Esposito and Ryan walked in. They stood, side by side, arms folded, with an expectant look on their faces. Kate smiled at them.

"Its okay guys," She said calmly. "He's been forgiven." They both grinned and moved forward to clap Castle on the back.

"Welcome back to the fold bro!" Said Ryan happily. But Esposito put his hand on Castle's shoulder.

"Next time you leave Castle, pick up the phone once in a while." He said with a frown, but smiled cheerfully all same. "Good to have you back!" Rick grinned back at them both, nodding and thanking them. Then they left, saying they had some work to finish. As Rick handed Kate her coffee, she stood up and beckoned him to follow. They left the room and walked into the observation deck for interview room 1, Kate locked the door behind them. Then she turned back to him, looking up from the floor, taking a deep breath.

"Okay Castle," She said slowly. "It's time for that talk."

**XXXXXXXX**


End file.
